As the third season of the United States Rally Championship goes into the “home stretch,” there is serious competition for the trophies, and an East-vs.-West battle may be in the offing.
This year, for the first time, the organizers of the championship have divided the country into two geographic areas, Atlantic and Pacific. Competitors score points in their own half of the U.S., with many competitors from both sides entering the final round. Six leading teams from the Atlantic region will each receive a $2,000 travel subsidy to contest the last rally, the Laughlin International Rally in Laughlin, Nevada, November 9-11. This system should reduce the travel costs to competitors, eliminating or limiting the need to travel back and forth across the country in order to enter enough events to contest a national series.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Rally of Travis
Less than 24 hours after making freestyle moto history with a double backflip, Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom won the debut X Games Rally Car Racing event. But rally legend Colin McCrae did his best to steal Pastrana's thunder on the final turn of the final at The Home Depot Center.
McCrae, who entered Saturday's "Super Special" ahead of Pastrana by 0.5 seconds overall, appeared to be headed for the gold as he re-entered the stadium for the final push to the finish line.
McCrae, who entered Saturday's "Super Special" ahead of Pastrana by 0.5 seconds overall, appeared to be headed for the gold as he re-entered the stadium for the final push to the finish line.
Travis Pastrana top 5's
dream cars
1. Custom chopped, yellow Ford duece coop with an LS7 engine and kicker system from hell.
2. honda powered ariel atom
3. 69 chevelle
4. ferrari F50
5. ford gt
movies
1 Snatch
2 kiss kiss bang bang
3 Happy Gilmore
4 Orgasmo
5 Days of Thunder
musical artists
1. lynyrd skynyrd
2.Linkin Park
3.jerry lee lewis
4.motley crew
5. Rob Zombie
gadgets
1. I pod
2. duct tape
3. the wheel
4. in car differential mapping controls
5. picture phones
actors / actresses
1. Cameron diez
2. amy smart
3. stiffler (and I don't mean ryan sheckler)
4. stifflers mom (and I don't mean gretchen sheckler)
5. bruce willis
tv shows
1. south park
2. simpsons
3. sienfield
4. anything on fuel
5. anything I'm gambling on
vacation destinations
1. Home in Maryland with an ubundance of subaru race cars and suzuki motorcycles...
2. Reynard and Bartrams house in Oklahoma
3. Home in Texas with my Master craft boat and godfrey films editing studio
4. "The one and only" resort in the bahama's
5. castillo ranch, California
restaurants
1.cold stone creamery
2. The Steak House in Edgewater, MD
3. Chick Fil A
4. Famous Daves in annapolis by the mall, ask for melissa.
5. Arby's
Every young boy wants to be a race car driver at some point
Luckily for Travis Hanson, his father never outgrew that desire, either.
“Dad is the right person to have in the righthand seat,” said 22-year-old Travis, the man behind the wheel of Team Hanson Racing, a Williamsburg father and son combo aiming for success in the national Rally America series this year.
Travis’ father Terrance, 55, is the service manager at Traverse Motors in Traverse City. As part of Team Hanson, he rides shotgun, calling out turns.
They drive a blue Subaru WRX Impreza, No. 523. With local sponsors and some elbow grease, the Hansons are hoping to expand on their 2006 regional championship win in the Central Division of the Production Grand Turismo class.
Rally racing involves street legal cars in staged races on public or private roads, sometimes thousands of miles long. The Hansons received a champagne salute after grabbing second place at their first national event this year, the Sno*Drift Rally on Jan. 27, in Atlanta, Mich.
However, they sat out the last two races this season because of distance and, well, because they’re waiting for the ride to get repaired. They hit a bit of trouble in the last leg of the February 100 Acre Wood event in Salem, Mo.
“We did have an ‘off’ (crash) down in Missouri and ended up kind of wrecking the car a little bit,” Terrance said.
Attrition is very high in rally racing. The Hansons were in second place before the mishap in Missouri — their fourth racing wreck. Ahead by five minutes, they simply needed to finish when standing water on the track had other ideas.
“We hit some water, hydroplaned and ran off the road right into a tree stump,” said Terrance. “It was rather abrupt. It ripped off the left front wheel of the car, catapulted us through the air and we flipped up on the roof.”
Terrance and Travis were a little whiplashed and Travis suffered a broken tailbone. The car is currently hospitalized at sponsor Olsen’s Auto Body, where it is being treated for suspension and alignment.
Travis is a 2003 graduate of Traverse City Central High School and is currently pursuing a mechanical engineering degree at Kettering University in Flint. The university offers a cooperative work study program, with one quarter in classes, one quarter in the work-a-day world getting practical experience, and so on. Travis is a senior.
His current work study is at Team O’Neil Rally School in New Hampshire. There he is paid to teach student racers — including military Special Forces types — the practical and technical know-how of rally racing.
It’s only been recently that the pair moved beyond spectator status.
“I was probably 19-20 years old with my dad and we were watching cars go by, thinking ‘We could do this,’” Travis said.
Automobiles were a big part of Travis’ life growing up. They began attending races, eventually crewing for a team one year. In 2005, they called that racer, paid $5,000 for his Subaru and Team Hanson was in business. They are aided by a volunteer crew of one to three people.
It ain’t cheap. Even with the assistance of sponsors Olsen’s, TranTek Automation and Cherry Capital Subaru, they are dipping into retirement and inheritance money.
While rally is the main game right now, Travis professed an interest in drift racing. That has the driver controlling the car in a way that the rear slip angle is greater than the front’s, creating a “drift.”
Stock car, though, is not a goal.
“I definitely would not be interested in NASCAR ‘turning left’ style racing,” he said.
Terrance said that most of their competition has far more — in some cases decades more — experience in road and rally racing than either of them and “as far as I’m concerned, (Travis) is right there.”
Because of the mishap in Missouri and the nature of rally racing itself, safety is a subject not far from their minds. The car has a series-required roll cage, fire protection and each wears a special harness for neck protection.
“Rally racing is certainly a sport where you could potentially die,” said Travis, who is comfortable with the calculated risk.
“We talk about it a bit,” said Terrance. “I guess there (is) some inherent danger — we’ll just deal with it if it happens. I’d like to think the car is safe enough that we’ll walk away from it.”
Because of distance and car repair time, they won’t make it to Olympia, Wash. for the next stop on the Rally America series. Their next race is in Pennsylvania for the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in Wellsboro on June 2.
Want to follow along? Visit www.rally-america.com for live race updates.
About Travis Pastrana
There are so many things that make Travis Pastrana an interesting guy. Okay, yes he did the double back-flip, and yes he competed in 4 events and won 3 gold medals in X Games 12. But, while I was researching Travis for this weeks article I found out that some interesting things about him that don't involve MotoX.
Travis graduated high school almost three years early. He didn't just graduate early, he did it with a 3.9 GPA. He also didn't bank on MotoX to get him through his life. In the middle of his career, he made the effort to go to college and get a degree from the University of Maryland.
Travis is fiercely loyal to the Suzuki brand. He rides Suzuki for practice as well as competition and refuses to ride anything else.
Travis is also very loyal to his fans. He will stay as long as it takes to sign autographs and take pictures with the fans that come to see him. People who meet Travis describe him as a genuinely nice guy.
And then there is the MotoX and Rally stuff. The double back-flip was truly amazing to watch. I don't know how much of it was the hype ("will he try it", "will he land it", "oh my God, he could die!") and how much was true awe. Watching a man on a motorcycle spin toe-over-tailpipe (twice!) then land so surely was unbelievable.
To top it all off, after pulling the double back-flip and enough amazing runs to get the gold in Freestyle, this man who seemed to defy the laws of gravity tripped over a cable on the ground. I am sorry that Travis was hurt but the irony is just too great.
If you haven't seen the double, look for it on the internet. If you can't find a link, e-mail me and I'll see that you get one.
Travis graduated high school almost three years early. He didn't just graduate early, he did it with a 3.9 GPA. He also didn't bank on MotoX to get him through his life. In the middle of his career, he made the effort to go to college and get a degree from the University of Maryland.
Travis is fiercely loyal to the Suzuki brand. He rides Suzuki for practice as well as competition and refuses to ride anything else.
Travis is also very loyal to his fans. He will stay as long as it takes to sign autographs and take pictures with the fans that come to see him. People who meet Travis describe him as a genuinely nice guy.
And then there is the MotoX and Rally stuff. The double back-flip was truly amazing to watch. I don't know how much of it was the hype ("will he try it", "will he land it", "oh my God, he could die!") and how much was true awe. Watching a man on a motorcycle spin toe-over-tailpipe (twice!) then land so surely was unbelievable.
To top it all off, after pulling the double back-flip and enough amazing runs to get the gold in Freestyle, this man who seemed to defy the laws of gravity tripped over a cable on the ground. I am sorry that Travis was hurt but the irony is just too great.
If you haven't seen the double, look for it on the internet. If you can't find a link, e-mail me and I'll see that you get one.
Travis Rally
With one race left in the 2006 Rally America Championship Series, Travis Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom have been crowned the winner of the series. At only 23 years old, Pastrana becomes the youngest individual to capture an American rally championship. In only his second season of participating in rally events, the young Annapolis, Maryland native continues to raise the bar.
"It's amazing, it's been a great year for us, everything has just worked so well, the car, the team and my co-driver Christian Edstrom have all just clicked together perfectly." says the elated Pastrana.
Pastrana and Edstrom will both race in the final race of the season at the Wild West Rally in Olympia, Washington taking place on Dec. 2-3. "As much as we'd like to celebrate, we have to maintain focus and keep on striving for some more wins, but it's nice to have the pressure off and just start to have fun!"
Pastrana recently was selected to participate as a member of Team USA in the Race of Champions in Paris, France in mid December with NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson. "I'm extremely honored to be able to represent Team USA at the Race of Champions. Anytime you have the opportunity to compete against some of the top rally car drivers it's exciting."
Rally racing has been able to gain mainstream exposure in 2006, Rally America is the sanctioning body behind the re-birth of purest form of racing in the United States. The motorsport, which was introduced to North America in the early 70’s has had a long and tough climb to get back into the spotlight of auto racing.
As the Rally America Championship series has grown into a true national championship race series, the auto industry has been keen on welcoming this motorsport back into the playing field with all the big guns in 2006. Networks such as ESPN took notice as they added rally car racing to the 2006 Summer X Games. With national television exposure giving rally racing an invigorating push, the near future looks bright for rally in the U.S.
A new generation of racing fans have been welcomed to continue the rally traditions as the elder statesman of rally have welcomed the breath of new competition and a new demographic to explore and take part in this rejuvenated auto sport.
Rally America is releasing their 2007 race schedule, which will take rally racing across North America. Rally America racing events will take place in Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, Maine, Minnesota, and Colorado.
2007 National Championship Series Schedule
Sno*Drift Rally
Atlanta, Michigan
January 26-27
Rally in the 100 Acre Wood
Salem, Missouri
February 23-24
Oregon Trail Rally
Hillsboro, Oregon
April 20-22
Olympus Rally
Olympia, Washington
May 19-20
Susquehannock Trail Rally
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
June 2
New England Forest Rally
Bethel, Maine
July 13-14
Ojibwe Forests Rally
Bemidji, Minnesota
August 24-25
Colorado Rally
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
September 22-23
Lake Superior Rally
Houghton, Michigan
October 26-27
"It's amazing, it's been a great year for us, everything has just worked so well, the car, the team and my co-driver Christian Edstrom have all just clicked together perfectly." says the elated Pastrana.
Pastrana and Edstrom will both race in the final race of the season at the Wild West Rally in Olympia, Washington taking place on Dec. 2-3. "As much as we'd like to celebrate, we have to maintain focus and keep on striving for some more wins, but it's nice to have the pressure off and just start to have fun!"
Pastrana recently was selected to participate as a member of Team USA in the Race of Champions in Paris, France in mid December with NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson. "I'm extremely honored to be able to represent Team USA at the Race of Champions. Anytime you have the opportunity to compete against some of the top rally car drivers it's exciting."
Rally racing has been able to gain mainstream exposure in 2006, Rally America is the sanctioning body behind the re-birth of purest form of racing in the United States. The motorsport, which was introduced to North America in the early 70’s has had a long and tough climb to get back into the spotlight of auto racing.
As the Rally America Championship series has grown into a true national championship race series, the auto industry has been keen on welcoming this motorsport back into the playing field with all the big guns in 2006. Networks such as ESPN took notice as they added rally car racing to the 2006 Summer X Games. With national television exposure giving rally racing an invigorating push, the near future looks bright for rally in the U.S.
A new generation of racing fans have been welcomed to continue the rally traditions as the elder statesman of rally have welcomed the breath of new competition and a new demographic to explore and take part in this rejuvenated auto sport.
Rally America is releasing their 2007 race schedule, which will take rally racing across North America. Rally America racing events will take place in Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, Maine, Minnesota, and Colorado.
2007 National Championship Series Schedule
Sno*Drift Rally
Atlanta, Michigan
January 26-27
Rally in the 100 Acre Wood
Salem, Missouri
February 23-24
Oregon Trail Rally
Hillsboro, Oregon
April 20-22
Olympus Rally
Olympia, Washington
May 19-20
Susquehannock Trail Rally
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
June 2
New England Forest Rally
Bethel, Maine
July 13-14
Ojibwe Forests Rally
Bemidji, Minnesota
August 24-25
Colorado Rally
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
September 22-23
Lake Superior Rally
Houghton, Michigan
October 26-27
X-Games Pastrana
Highlights. They're the lifeblood of TV sports, cell phone/iPod downloads and time capsules eventually discovered by alien invaders destined to conquer our planet. Okay, maybe not that last part (as far as we know), but there's no doubt that X Games highlights are a little zippier than darts or soapbox derby reels. "You come to expect it now," says uber-X vet Andy Macdonald. "People literally save stuff up for the X Games." And how. Four days of competition have delivered champions new (Scotty Cranmer, BMX Park) and old (Bucky Lasek, Skateboard Best Trick). We've witnessed event debuts (BMX Big Air), twisted metal (Colin McRae's last second roll in Rally Car) and twisted bodies (Dave Mirra, Kenny Bartrum, Nate Adams, et al.). But what big moment was summer X 12's hugest? To find out, we asked those responsible for creating them — the athletes. When they look back on the past four days years from now, what will they remember? Here's a hint: That Pastrana guy will occupy plenty of collective X athlete gray matter.
Jeremy McGrath (MTX) — "I've been watching everything and then I watched Travis' double backflip Friday night on TV. The best moment for me has got to be that double. It was amazing, really amazing. I was a little bummed for him that he didn't get a perfect 10. I thought he deserved one. I don't know how that happened. What do you want? I don't even want to do a single backflip. I'm a racer, not a freestyler. I saw bike park today, which was also really sweet."
Jeremy Stenberg (MTX) — "Definitely Pastrana doing the double flip. And Blake Williams doing a cliffhanger flip knee with a 360 nac nac to a one-handed landing. They're tricks you don't really think of, then you seen them happen and you're like, 'Damn, that's gnarly!' Now I have my work cut out for me when I get back on my bike. I've got to be practicing my butt off."
Tommy Clowers (MTX) — "Oh man, there's been a lot down there at Staples Center, but it has to be the double backflip by Pastrana. I don't even know what to call what Kevin Robinson did. A double tailwhip 540 or something. I don't know exactly how they call that out. (ed. note: we think it's a double flair.) But if I had to pick one, I'd say the double back by Travis. I was driving up here and we had it going in the motor home. I didn't think he was going to try it, but I didn't know how much he's been practicing. Obviously he had it down. He couldn't have landed it any better. Insane."
Brian Deegan (MTX) — "The best moment is obviously Travis doing a double backflip. I was sweating for him, I was really sweatin' because I didn't want to see him hurt. I knew he was gonna do it but I wasn't sure he was going to land it. It was like fifty-fifty, a dice roll, and it made me nervous. I don't want to see anyone get hurt who rides a dirt bike."
Mike Escamilla (BMX) — "For me, my best pick was Friday night in general. I don't know if I could pick just one thing. I'm gonna pick best night for action sports would be Friday night, inside the Staples Center. With Travis' double back, Kagy's double-whip flair, Robinson's double flip, Keith's front flip flair. Pretty much, if Shaun would have locked down that 1080, you could have quit the X Games right there. That would have been it."
Morgan Wade (BMX) — "The coolest thing I saw out of all this was Travis' double flip. Because I thought he was dead, and every time I see the footage I think he's dead again. He was within four feet of casing his front wheel."
Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins (SKT) — "So far, it's been pretty fun just to watch the mega ramp. I haven't ridden the mega ramp in almost a year now, so it's been pretty fun to watch. In BMX, it was Kagy, Kevin Robinson and Bestwick's tricks — those three. I like those guys. And the stuff Bob Burnquist hangs onto. He's just a different breed, man."
Jen O'Brien (SKT) — "Well, of course, Travis' double backflip. And Kevin Robinson's double flair, that was really gnarly. And I was proud of Bob Bunrquist (ed. note: he's her baby daddy.) with his switch ollie-360 over the gap. And he made his other trick, too. To me, he won Big Air, in my book, anyway. It was awesome to watch." Pierre-Luc Gagnon (SKT) — "Of course, Travis Pastrana's double backflip. I was pretty blown away by that, for sure. And here in the mega ramp contest, Danny Way's rocket backflip. He learned that trick a couple months ago when he had a mega ramp in Mexico City. Bob Burnquist did a switch backside 180 Ollie without grabbing over the 50-foot gap. That was pretty outstanding, too. And Jake Brown pulled a 20-foot high McTwist on the quarter pipe. He'd never even tried that, before. He'd only done that off the small jump. Then he did one off the 70-footer, first try. I'm so happy for Jake."
Rob Loriface (SKT) — "Travis' double back was pretty crazy. I've seen it about a million times on TV and I never get enough of that thing. It was pretty gnarly. I think Danny's rocket back flip was pretty crazy, too. And Jake's 20-foot 540 was pretty insane, too."
Jake Brown (SKT) — "I was really stoked on the BMX best trick contest. There were five tricks that went down that were just insane. I think Chad Kagy did a double tailwhip flat spin or something. Kevin Robinson's double flair was great. And of course, Pastrana's backflip."
Sandro Dias (SKT) — "I was so impressed to see the double backflip from Travis Pastrana. That was amazing. Before he tried it I was like, 'Oh my Gosh! What's going to happen?' But everything was perfect. I think it was the best moment of X Games 2006. I think a double bac flip on a skateboard is possible, especially here on the mega ramp. Maybe someone can try it. I don't want to try it right now. No way I'll be the first guy."
Andy Macdonald (SKT) — "I didn't get a chance to hang out that much and see the other events like I usually do. For me, it was all about making my third run in the vert finals. Other than that, it's always nice seeing other people do well. A teammate of mine, Sandro Dias, obviously did well in vert, so that was great."
Jeremy McGrath (MTX) — "I've been watching everything and then I watched Travis' double backflip Friday night on TV. The best moment for me has got to be that double. It was amazing, really amazing. I was a little bummed for him that he didn't get a perfect 10. I thought he deserved one. I don't know how that happened. What do you want? I don't even want to do a single backflip. I'm a racer, not a freestyler. I saw bike park today, which was also really sweet."
Jeremy Stenberg (MTX) — "Definitely Pastrana doing the double flip. And Blake Williams doing a cliffhanger flip knee with a 360 nac nac to a one-handed landing. They're tricks you don't really think of, then you seen them happen and you're like, 'Damn, that's gnarly!' Now I have my work cut out for me when I get back on my bike. I've got to be practicing my butt off."
Tommy Clowers (MTX) — "Oh man, there's been a lot down there at Staples Center, but it has to be the double backflip by Pastrana. I don't even know what to call what Kevin Robinson did. A double tailwhip 540 or something. I don't know exactly how they call that out. (ed. note: we think it's a double flair.) But if I had to pick one, I'd say the double back by Travis. I was driving up here and we had it going in the motor home. I didn't think he was going to try it, but I didn't know how much he's been practicing. Obviously he had it down. He couldn't have landed it any better. Insane."
Brian Deegan (MTX) — "The best moment is obviously Travis doing a double backflip. I was sweating for him, I was really sweatin' because I didn't want to see him hurt. I knew he was gonna do it but I wasn't sure he was going to land it. It was like fifty-fifty, a dice roll, and it made me nervous. I don't want to see anyone get hurt who rides a dirt bike."
Mike Escamilla (BMX) — "For me, my best pick was Friday night in general. I don't know if I could pick just one thing. I'm gonna pick best night for action sports would be Friday night, inside the Staples Center. With Travis' double back, Kagy's double-whip flair, Robinson's double flip, Keith's front flip flair. Pretty much, if Shaun would have locked down that 1080, you could have quit the X Games right there. That would have been it."
Morgan Wade (BMX) — "The coolest thing I saw out of all this was Travis' double flip. Because I thought he was dead, and every time I see the footage I think he's dead again. He was within four feet of casing his front wheel."
Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins (SKT) — "So far, it's been pretty fun just to watch the mega ramp. I haven't ridden the mega ramp in almost a year now, so it's been pretty fun to watch. In BMX, it was Kagy, Kevin Robinson and Bestwick's tricks — those three. I like those guys. And the stuff Bob Burnquist hangs onto. He's just a different breed, man."
Jen O'Brien (SKT) — "Well, of course, Travis' double backflip. And Kevin Robinson's double flair, that was really gnarly. And I was proud of Bob Bunrquist (ed. note: he's her baby daddy.) with his switch ollie-360 over the gap. And he made his other trick, too. To me, he won Big Air, in my book, anyway. It was awesome to watch." Pierre-Luc Gagnon (SKT) — "Of course, Travis Pastrana's double backflip. I was pretty blown away by that, for sure. And here in the mega ramp contest, Danny Way's rocket backflip. He learned that trick a couple months ago when he had a mega ramp in Mexico City. Bob Burnquist did a switch backside 180 Ollie without grabbing over the 50-foot gap. That was pretty outstanding, too. And Jake Brown pulled a 20-foot high McTwist on the quarter pipe. He'd never even tried that, before. He'd only done that off the small jump. Then he did one off the 70-footer, first try. I'm so happy for Jake."
Rob Loriface (SKT) — "Travis' double back was pretty crazy. I've seen it about a million times on TV and I never get enough of that thing. It was pretty gnarly. I think Danny's rocket back flip was pretty crazy, too. And Jake's 20-foot 540 was pretty insane, too."
Jake Brown (SKT) — "I was really stoked on the BMX best trick contest. There were five tricks that went down that were just insane. I think Chad Kagy did a double tailwhip flat spin or something. Kevin Robinson's double flair was great. And of course, Pastrana's backflip."
Sandro Dias (SKT) — "I was so impressed to see the double backflip from Travis Pastrana. That was amazing. Before he tried it I was like, 'Oh my Gosh! What's going to happen?' But everything was perfect. I think it was the best moment of X Games 2006. I think a double bac flip on a skateboard is possible, especially here on the mega ramp. Maybe someone can try it. I don't want to try it right now. No way I'll be the first guy."
Andy Macdonald (SKT) — "I didn't get a chance to hang out that much and see the other events like I usually do. For me, it was all about making my third run in the vert finals. Other than that, it's always nice seeing other people do well. A teammate of mine, Sandro Dias, obviously did well in vert, so that was great."
Here Comes The Bride
Before Sunday's X Games Freestyle Moto X finals, Travis Pastrana said Nate Adams is the best Freestyle rider in the world. Asked the same question, Nate Adams said that title belongs to Travis Pastrana. Modest or not, both riders knew the final would come down to a head-to-head battle between them.
With a concussion, black eye, tweaked wrist, broken toe and badly scraped cheek, Pastrana gutted out two runs. But with no 360 and no double backflip, Travis could not put together a run that could put him ahead of Adams. For the first time in his X Games career, Pastrana didn't win the Freestyle gold.
"I think that concussion was a blessing in disguise," Adams says of Pastrana's decision to bag the double flip, the most hyped new trick of the weekend. Trailing Adams after his first run, Travis knew he'd have to throw one of his two money tricks to take the lead. "I just don't want to throw anything it would take to win," Travis told ESPN announcer Jamie Little before his second run. "Sorry, folks, but you're not going to see the double or the 360 tonight." All eyes were still on Pastrana as he approached his last jump over the super-kicker ramp he had specifically set at 50 feet, the distance he felt he needed for two rotations. "He'll do whatever he wants," Adams said before Pastrana's last run. "I know he's not the type of guy who would lay back and let me win." Riding through pain, a spinning head and a left eye so swollen he could barely see, Pastrana hit the ramp and threw ... a single. And threw his gold-medal hopes aside.
"My plan was for a good solid score the first time out," Adams said, "but if Travis went out and beat it, then I had a totally different run planned for my second time out." Adams knows he's not as exciting to watch as Pastrana. Maybe no one is. He also realizes how hard it is to compete with a 20-year-old rider whose skill as an entertainer rivals his skills on a bike. Comp after comp, he builds energy with the crowd to hype the judges and build anticipation. "Last year, Travis crashed and still won," Adams says. "I think the judges are more lenient with him because he's got a lot of excitement when he rides. Travis is the only person I watch ride." Adams also tricks the crowd. But his sleight of hand often works against him. He's so smooth on the bike that he makes even the most technical trick look effortless. Instead of hyping up the crowd, he calms them with his technical perfection. That's why Pastrana says he calls him the best rider in the world. It's also why TP says Nate has taken so long to win a contest. "Nate convinces the crowd by doing something that should be completely impossible and makes it look easy," Pastrana says. "The crowd doesn't respond very well and neither do the judges. As soon as he gets a little sketchier, he'll do better." Pastrana, for example, riles the crowd by running off the course, flat tracking to the next ramp and smashing into trackside barriers. It's a given that he'll impress the crowd with his tricks, but it's his masterful skill at working the judges that wins him gold after gold. "I really pay attention to where the judges are. I know where they're sitting and I know what they can and can't see," he says. "Every jump the judges can see, I'm going to do my best to jump and land as smoothly and cleanly as possible. If there's a trick that looks better from a certain angle on a certain ramp, I'm doing those tricks there," he continues. "From some angles, a 360 looks like a backflip. From another angle, it looks like a true 360. You have to play the angle."
One angle Pastrana failed to play was the 360. After a nasty crash in prelims on his second 360 attempt of the night, he didn't even touch it in the finals. Adams, however, laid down a flawless first run that included a 360, a flip kick to no-hander, a huge cliffhanger, a rock solid and other flip variations. The gold hanging around his neck got the monkey off of Nate's back. As for Pastrana, he just wants to sleep. "I'm happy for Nate, but I just want to go home and sleep for a few weeks and heal up from these injuries," he said after the comp. "Then I want to come back next year and kick butt." X Games rookie Adam Jones put in an impressive bronze medal ride to edge out Beau Bamburg (4th) and Ronnie Renner (5th) in the finals. 1. Nate Adams, Glendale, Ariz—93.80 2. Travis Pastrana, Annapolis, Md—92.00 3. Adam Jones, Warrendale, Pa—90.20 4. Beau Bamberg, Gresham, Ore.—89.40 5. Ronnie Renner, Westmister, Calif—89.00
"I think that concussion was a blessing in disguise," Adams says of Pastrana's decision to bag the double flip, the most hyped new trick of the weekend. Trailing Adams after his first run, Travis knew he'd have to throw one of his two money tricks to take the lead. "I just don't want to throw anything it would take to win," Travis told ESPN announcer Jamie Little before his second run. "Sorry, folks, but you're not going to see the double or the 360 tonight." All eyes were still on Pastrana as he approached his last jump over the super-kicker ramp he had specifically set at 50 feet, the distance he felt he needed for two rotations. "He'll do whatever he wants," Adams said before Pastrana's last run. "I know he's not the type of guy who would lay back and let me win." Riding through pain, a spinning head and a left eye so swollen he could barely see, Pastrana hit the ramp and threw ... a single. And threw his gold-medal hopes aside.
"My plan was for a good solid score the first time out," Adams said, "but if Travis went out and beat it, then I had a totally different run planned for my second time out." Adams knows he's not as exciting to watch as Pastrana. Maybe no one is. He also realizes how hard it is to compete with a 20-year-old rider whose skill as an entertainer rivals his skills on a bike. Comp after comp, he builds energy with the crowd to hype the judges and build anticipation. "Last year, Travis crashed and still won," Adams says. "I think the judges are more lenient with him because he's got a lot of excitement when he rides. Travis is the only person I watch ride." Adams also tricks the crowd. But his sleight of hand often works against him. He's so smooth on the bike that he makes even the most technical trick look effortless. Instead of hyping up the crowd, he calms them with his technical perfection. That's why Pastrana says he calls him the best rider in the world. It's also why TP says Nate has taken so long to win a contest. "Nate convinces the crowd by doing something that should be completely impossible and makes it look easy," Pastrana says. "The crowd doesn't respond very well and neither do the judges. As soon as he gets a little sketchier, he'll do better." Pastrana, for example, riles the crowd by running off the course, flat tracking to the next ramp and smashing into trackside barriers. It's a given that he'll impress the crowd with his tricks, but it's his masterful skill at working the judges that wins him gold after gold. "I really pay attention to where the judges are. I know where they're sitting and I know what they can and can't see," he says. "Every jump the judges can see, I'm going to do my best to jump and land as smoothly and cleanly as possible. If there's a trick that looks better from a certain angle on a certain ramp, I'm doing those tricks there," he continues. "From some angles, a 360 looks like a backflip. From another angle, it looks like a true 360. You have to play the angle."
One angle Pastrana failed to play was the 360. After a nasty crash in prelims on his second 360 attempt of the night, he didn't even touch it in the finals. Adams, however, laid down a flawless first run that included a 360, a flip kick to no-hander, a huge cliffhanger, a rock solid and other flip variations. The gold hanging around his neck got the monkey off of Nate's back. As for Pastrana, he just wants to sleep. "I'm happy for Nate, but I just want to go home and sleep for a few weeks and heal up from these injuries," he said after the comp. "Then I want to come back next year and kick butt." X Games rookie Adam Jones put in an impressive bronze medal ride to edge out Beau Bamburg (4th) and Ronnie Renner (5th) in the finals. 1. Nate Adams, Glendale, Ariz—93.80 2. Travis Pastrana, Annapolis, Md—92.00 3. Adam Jones, Warrendale, Pa—90.20 4. Beau Bamberg, Gresham, Ore.—89.40 5. Ronnie Renner, Westmister, Calif—89.00
Live at the X-Games: Rally Racing Does Hollywood
Dear Hollywood: Teenagers love living on the edge. They worship wild skateboarders and insane Moto X riders. It's no wonder the X Games have become so popular. You've heard of Colin McRae? Sony has this really neat race game named after him so he's a big hit with kids, though many of them think he's a fictitious character. But auto racing enthusiasts know he's one of the world's greatest race drivers.
As a rally driver he's able to drive along dirt roads at unbelievable speeds with the help of a navigator sitting beside him, who reads out instructions telling him what lies ahead. If you've watched coverage of a World Rally Championship event you'll find out why the WRC is probably the most popular form of motorsport worldwide, ahead of Formula One and way ahead of NASCAR. It's because it's a sport people can relate to as these drivers are in street legal cars and they can be seen driving on public highways between the competitive sections of the rallies.
For one reason and another rallying has never become a popular sport in the US. You guys in Hollywood have a knack for creating made-for-TV stories that help promote sports and stars. Can you do something to promote rallying in America?
Dear Rally Enthusiast: We've taken a look at footage from rallies and we agree - rallying is spectacular and rally drivers are undoubtedly the best drivers in the world. Here's our suggestion, read through this overview of a potential script and see if it might work for promoting the sport:
Find a good-looking personable teenager who is skilled at riding a motorcycle in the dirt and make him a star in motocross. Bring him to the X-Games where his skills at performing Moto X tricks earn him gold medals each year. Once he's the sports biggest hero he'll have a giant fan base. Then get him to start competing in rallies in a top-notch car. His skills as a motocross rider will ensure he starts to win, as it is such a good training ground for rally drivers.
His draw will allow him to approach the organizers of the X Games when he asks if rallying can be added to the annual event. Get the rider's team to bring in his hero, a world champion rally driver from Europe as his team mate. Run some elimination special stages in the great tracks out in the desert near Los Angeles. Take the times from those stages and adjust them so the accumulative times are close, allowing for a dramatic final stage on an artificial track in the stadium at the X Games. Make sure that the battle between the motocross rider and the world champion is close so there's a chance for the motocross rider to be able to beat the world champ.
One the first day of the X Games have the Moto X star do an unbelievable double-flip jump to win a gold medal so the crowd is pumped up for the rally event. Before the start of the rally stage interview the motocross champ and get him to reveal that it's the world champ's birthday that day. Have him egg on the world champ saying something like: "you're going to get the silver medal for your birthday present."
On live TV set the stage for a dramatic finale by showing great footage from the desert stages run earlier. Show how rallying works and make sure footage of the driver's feet is shown - it really demonstrates the incredible car control achieved by these drivers. Have the five finalists race through the stage in reverse order. Show their times on the TV screen so viewers can see how close each driver is coming to winning.
As a rally driver he's able to drive along dirt roads at unbelievable speeds with the help of a navigator sitting beside him, who reads out instructions telling him what lies ahead. If you've watched coverage of a World Rally Championship event you'll find out why the WRC is probably the most popular form of motorsport worldwide, ahead of Formula One and way ahead of NASCAR. It's because it's a sport people can relate to as these drivers are in street legal cars and they can be seen driving on public highways between the competitive sections of the rallies.
For one reason and another rallying has never become a popular sport in the US. You guys in Hollywood have a knack for creating made-for-TV stories that help promote sports and stars. Can you do something to promote rallying in America?
Dear Rally Enthusiast: We've taken a look at footage from rallies and we agree - rallying is spectacular and rally drivers are undoubtedly the best drivers in the world. Here's our suggestion, read through this overview of a potential script and see if it might work for promoting the sport:
Find a good-looking personable teenager who is skilled at riding a motorcycle in the dirt and make him a star in motocross. Bring him to the X-Games where his skills at performing Moto X tricks earn him gold medals each year. Once he's the sports biggest hero he'll have a giant fan base. Then get him to start competing in rallies in a top-notch car. His skills as a motocross rider will ensure he starts to win, as it is such a good training ground for rally drivers.
His draw will allow him to approach the organizers of the X Games when he asks if rallying can be added to the annual event. Get the rider's team to bring in his hero, a world champion rally driver from Europe as his team mate. Run some elimination special stages in the great tracks out in the desert near Los Angeles. Take the times from those stages and adjust them so the accumulative times are close, allowing for a dramatic final stage on an artificial track in the stadium at the X Games. Make sure that the battle between the motocross rider and the world champion is close so there's a chance for the motocross rider to be able to beat the world champ.
One the first day of the X Games have the Moto X star do an unbelievable double-flip jump to win a gold medal so the crowd is pumped up for the rally event. Before the start of the rally stage interview the motocross champ and get him to reveal that it's the world champ's birthday that day. Have him egg on the world champ saying something like: "you're going to get the silver medal for your birthday present."
On live TV set the stage for a dramatic finale by showing great footage from the desert stages run earlier. Show how rallying works and make sure footage of the driver's feet is shown - it really demonstrates the incredible car control achieved by these drivers. Have the five finalists race through the stage in reverse order. Show their times on the TV screen so viewers can see how close each driver is coming to winning.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Pastrana 199
Travis Pastrana, Ricky Johnson, Andy Grider and Greg Godfrey who belong to team 199 will race in baja 1000 on a unique RMZ450 which was was prepeared especially for this event. The special features include a one-off flywheel, dedicated quick release headlight, a new high-low beam and a dual filament HID light. This race is considered as one of the most chalenging races in the world.
Pastrana 199 team will be sponsored by Red Bull, Cernic's Racing and The Nitro Circus. Travis Pastrana 199 will be the main driver of the team.A one hour documentry will be produced especially for this event, make sure you watch it.
The name Team 199 comes from Travis Pastrana - 199 is his number. When he was asked why he chose this number he said " any mark between 100 and 99 is good for me". Pastrana's wishes came through at the 2006 X-Games when he was given the mark 99 for his Double Backflip.
Pastrana 199 team will be sponsored by Red Bull, Cernic's Racing and The Nitro Circus. Travis Pastrana 199 will be the main driver of the team.A one hour documentry will be produced especially for this event, make sure you watch it.
The name Team 199 comes from Travis Pastrana - 199 is his number. When he was asked why he chose this number he said " any mark between 100 and 99 is good for me". Pastrana's wishes came through at the 2006 X-Games when he was given the mark 99 for his Double Backflip.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)